Menaced By War, An Ancient Christian Village In Iraq Returns To Life

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Three men water newly planted trees on March 18 in al-Qosh,
an ancient Christian village in northern Iraq. The village emptied out
last August as Islamic State fighters approached. But the extremists
never entered al-Qosh and the village and residents have returned. The
men are watering outside a monastery that dates to the 7th century.

Alex Potter for NPR

The ancient Rabban Hermizd Monestary, on a hill overlooking the
northern village of al-Qosh, is a testament to the long history of
Christians in Iraq. Stone walls leading up the hill are decorated with
iconography, and the 7th-century monastery is covered with the ancient
Syriac language, still spoken today by the people of al-Qosh."Christians
have been here in the Ninevah plains for thousands of years. It would
be a tragedy if we just disappeared," said Athra Kado, a local Syriac
language teacher.But on Aug. 6 of last year, the people of al-Qosh did disappear, in a manner of speaking.The
self-declared Islamic State, or ISIS, was within about six miles and
had been advancing rapidly in northern Iraq, overrunning Mosul, Iraq's
second largest city, as well as other towns and villages in the area.Kurdish
forces that opposed ISIS, known as the Peshmerga, came to al-Qosh on
the night of Aug. 6 to warn the residents they were in imminent danger.The Peshmerga "threw a barricade across the road just outside al-Qosh, but we knew that wouldn't stop" ISIS, said Kado.

Ancient Assyrian, a language dating to biblical times,
decorates the Rabban Hermzid Monastery that was built in the 7th
century.

Alex Potter for NPR

The residents fled, leaving al-Qosh a ghost town. But something
curious happened. For reasons unknown, ISIS stopped stopped short of
al-Qosh and never tried to enter the village.After a while,
the residents felt secure enough to return and it has been buzzing with
activity this spring. The markets are open, the schools are running, and
families are picnicking on the hills overlooking al-Qosh.While
all appears well for the moment, the future of Christians in Iraq and
elsewhere in the Middle East is not particularly bright.Christians
in Iraq numbered about 1.5 million, or about 8 percent of the
population, before the U.S. invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein
in 2003.

More than a decade of war and upheaval has prompted many
Christians to leave. Today the Christian population in Iraq is estimated
to have dropped below 400,000.The Christian exodus from Iraq
is one part of a larger trend that has been playing out for decades
throughout the wider Middle East. In the mid-20th century, Christians
were estimated to be about 20 percent of the Middle East's population. Today, it's 5 percent at most.In
2008 and 2010, al-Qosh became a safe haven for civilians fleeing
turbulence in the Mosul area, about 30 miles to the south. The same
thing happened again before and after the ISIS threat last August.Elderly
women from the countryside have stayed in an empty local school. The
women said they were comfortable and well provided for, though they
hoped to return to their homes.The residents of al-Qosh have now set up their own militia in hopes of protecting the village should it again be threatened.Kado
and a number of his friends serve rotating days on militia duty,
patrolling the town and the surrounding area. As they climbed the
flower-covered hill behind the monastery to water newly planted trees,
they reflected on the situation.

An Assyrian Christian couple walks through the market area
of al-Qosh, where most residents have returned after fleeing last August
in the face of an advance of the Islamic State. The ancient village is
about 30 miles north of Mosul, Iraq's second biggest city, which is
still held by the Islamic State.

"We come up here to picnic, to be with our friends. This is our
town, we don't want to give it up," said Riven Nafe, an engineer.A
priest in a local church, Gabriel Gorgis, said it is the world's duty
to help protect dwindling Christian communities in place like al-Qosh."Look
around at our history," said Gorgis. "We have been here for thousands
of years. Wouldn't it be a shame to the world and future generations to
lose us?"

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Ambassador T. Brikins is a Writer Blogger, Mass Communications Consultant and Inforpreneur having experiences in the National News Media, Oil and Gas, Administration, University and the Church of Christ..
He is C.E.O. @ New Direction Communications..
He is an ordained Minister and heavily imparted by Dr. David Oyedepo, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, Rev.Roselyn Oduyemi, Kenneth Copeland,Dr. D.Yongi Cho, Apostle Alex Bamgbola, Kenneth E. Hagin, Apostle G. Oduyemi, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, T.L. Osborn,Dr. E.W. Kenyon , Oral Roberts and many more.
Ambassador T. Brikins runs with the visions of Isaiah 11:9; Matthew 23:23 and 11 Corinthians 5:16-21 working with the Lord for their practical expressions in every area of life. .
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